Bedtime Story
by Pyroden
Summary: A gripping story about a princess-...wait, no that's not right, because that would be implying that the princess was a SHE, when HE is clearly not, although folks shouldn't decide what roles genders play, even though I suppose those are very important...
1. Prologue

Once upon a time in a far away kingdom, there lived a king who ruled very just and rightly. The people adored him. When the queen had died from bearing a child,  
the kingdom fully supported their grieving king...but the king's loss was so great, he grew deranged...

His wife had left behind a beautiful baby boy, with bright blue eyes and soft brown hair; it was if he had seen his wife again. And so, despite the pleading of his advisors and people, the king who once ruled rightly and wisely could not discern the gender of his own son, whom he called daughter. Thus, "Elle" was shut from the world as soon as he was born, a prince raised to lead the life of a princess.

At a very young age Elle knew she was different from other girls; not that she had many to compare to as many were adults in the princess' life, but Elle wasn't interested in dresses or playing with her shoulder length hair. She liked to run around the courtyards, free in trousers that some of the maids would sneak in to her, until Elle would be caught by her father the king and scolded for not acting like a "proper" princess.

Young Elle was very inquisitive, constantly asking questions about the outside world she knew nothing about. Her father was extremely protective of her, and the only answer Elle would receive as to why simple the name of her late mother. The servants of the castle and the kingdom dearly loved their king and late queen so even against their better judgment, they listened to their king's orders regarding the princess; to keep her indoors and make sure no outside ever beheld the princess. But to every rule there was an exception, and that came in the form or a scrawny dirty child.

Elle, age seven, was an amazing speaker for her age: not only had she the kingdoms best tutors at her beck and call, but she had the natural speaking ability of her late mother, the queen. People often told her how much she resembles the queen and Elle took it to heart, doing her best to be as regal as a princess should, even though she had preferred to run wild within the courtyards.

But instead, young Elle found herself strolling leisurely along the courtyards gardens, head held high and pose perfect.

When she wasn't accidentally stumbling.

But it was on a quiet peaceful afternoon that Elle heard the most unusual sound, the clomping of heavy boots; which wouldn t be so much of a surprise if they were the royal knights, except the steps were too rushed and light to be the heavy and sturdy footwear of the royal guard. Elle would have searched the surrounding area for the source of the noise when suddenly something collided hard with her back, sending the princess to the ground with an ungracefully squawk.

Elle strived to be graceful; she was often scolded, or teased for her clumsy nature, as if her walk was not meant for her. But Elle was a determined princess, if not a bit stubborn, so the brunette adjusted her day dress quickly (a princess should never show her legs), rushing to stand and nearly falling back down in the process, flushed.

_There goes that plan._ Elle thought sourly, patting at her dirtied dress, dusting it off.

A thin groan, however, drew her attention back to the culprit that had caused her ungraceful fall. At first, Elle thought it was a large lump of clothes that the maids had thrown about, but human noises came from the small lump.

"Hello?" Elle asked timidly, wringing her yellow spring dress. She heard of many evil things living outside the castle walls, and Elle believed them religiously.

"Bleh," the lump responded, before it jumped up with a loud shout, nearly sending Elle to the ground a second time, "Tha hurt ya wench!" the lump of rags (which was actually another child with wild auburn hair) accused loudly, glaring at the shell-shocked princess.

"E-excuse me?" Elle quickly angered; how dare this servant disrespected the princess of this kingdom! You will be re-

"Ya almost broke me in two!" the dirty urchin continued to complain, checking his thin frame as if searching for injuries, "Last time I try runnin, gawd!"

Elle quieted, studying the other child. He was thin and lanky; it was no wonder Elle's stockier frame might have done more damage to him. Unruly auburn hair framed his dirty face, which might have had freckles underneath all the scum.

All in all, a disgusting thing.

That is what Elle's training had told her, but Elle herself was curious; she wanted to know where had the child come from, what he was doing or why he was running. Thousands of questions ran through her head.

"You speak oddly," Elle had managed to quip, her raising getting the better of her.

The red head finally really focused on who he was talking to, dark blue eyes widening slightly, "Yer pretty," the child stated bluntly, looking at the brunette.

"Thank you!" Elle responded happily, her sour mood already forgotten. The young brunette was quick to forgive, and the urchin intrigued her more then anything else she could have ever encountered before, so even the rude exclamation was quickly dismissed.

The dirty child brushed off Elle's gratitude towards the complement, offering a strangely clean grin, "M'names Keith, what's yers?"

"Keith," Elle repeated, holding back an excited giggle. Finally someone her own age to speak with! Even though the other child looked older then her, he was still clearly around her age group. "My name is Elle," the princess curtsied, proper manners meaning everything to her, "Princess of Hevonen."

The newly introduced Keith froze, eyes widening at the young princess. He gapped for a moment, pointing at her, as Elle grew more confused and slightly concerned.

"Yer THE princess?" Keith finally yowled, stepping back as if he had encountered a ghost. "Homahgawdthey'regunnakillmahma,anthey'regunnakillmeanahdunwannadies'young-" the red head continued to babble on, only serving to confuse the princess further.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Elle spoke calmly, cautiously stepping closer to the panicking urchin, "I would like to only speak with you for a moment."

"Naw yer pa is gonna kill me and my ma!"

"Why," Elle responded testily, her patience running thin. Of all the people and children, the brunette was stuck with the crazy urchin that spoke nonsense.

"The law!" Keith replied instantly.

Elle arched an eyebrow (something she had picked up form her father) "And what law might the be?" The princess was tutored daily, and besides her usual lessons she was also versed in the laws and procedures of the kingdom. ("You can never start to early, princess") She had never heard of a law regarding _herself_.

"If anybody comes in contact with the princess that person and their family will be put to death," Keith recited without hesitation, as is it were engraved in his head, "Hogawd and I TOUCHED you!" The red head groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "M'so sorry m'so sorry m'so sorry!" he fell to his hands and knees before her, head bowed low. "I-I know I gotta d-die, but please dun take my ma!"

"Calm down," Elle timidly patted the top of the unruly auburn hair with a hand, "No one is going to die, alright?"

"Huh?" Keith looked up to her, eyes moist and cheeks red, "But it's the law."

"Do you see anyone here?" Elle motioned with a hand around the quiet garden; it had been just the two of them the entire time.

Keith looked around with wide eyes, finally looking back to her, "B-but you saw-"

"Me?" Elle smiled mysteriously, her tone innocent, "I've been walking in the garden, I didn t see anyone."

The red head blinked at her in silence before scrambling to his feet, giving a loud whoop as he pulled the surprised princess into a tight hug, "Pretty AND nice? My ma told me bout'chu!"

Elle squeaked as she was hugged, tittering, "I'm sure you mother has never met me-"

"Naw," Keith grinned again, and Elle found herself liking it more and more, "My ma told me bout a girl I'm gonna find, and I'm gonna marry her!"

"M-marry?" Elle pushed away form the red head's hold, keeping herself from falling, "I'm afraid you're mistaken..." Princesses marry princes, not some dirty thin child.

"Oh," Keith looked towards the ground, and Elle could _feel_ the waves of disappointment coming from his thin frame. The red head scuffed his boots for a quiet moment before lifting his head and grinning once more, "Ma told me it wasn't gonna be easy!"

"But that wasn't-" Keith leaned quickly, pressing a small kiss to Elle's cheek, to which she could only blush and gawk.

That was her first kiss! The nerve of the urchin! The brunette stamped her foot, "I'm not marrying _yew_," she huffed angrily, mimicking the heavy accent.

"You will when I woo you with my horse!" Keith replied cheekily, "I got a head start too; I work in them stables of yer dad's!" Elle could only pout, watching the red head grin toothily. She wanted a friend, not a future husband. Her father was going to pick one out for her; a handsome prince from another kingdom.

"I gotta get goin' now," Keith sighed, "I just ran fer a bit cus I wanted a break, but I bet they're lookin' fer me..."

"Yes, go away, shoo," Elle waved her hand away at Keith, still miffed about the stolen kiss.

"Kin I visit?" Keith asked curiously, smiling.

"Remember the law?" Elle deadpaned, not believing the nerve of this child.

"Anythin' fer my wife!"

"Get out of here!" Elle snapped, flushing as Keith ran from where he had come from, holding in his laughter.


	2. Chapter 1

For a panicked day, Elle had though she d lost the only younger contact from the outside world of the castle (outside was certainly a dirty place if the urchin was any indication), but Elle was pleasantly surprised that Keith returned the next day, and the day after that. He always appeared at the same time each day; the young princess made sure to always walk in the castle gardens to meet with the red head.

As to what they did for an entire hour each day; Elle asked questions, and Keith would try to answer them to the best of his ability, often flustered with his lack of vocabulary to the well spoken princess.

And despite the urchin's often announcements of his love for her, Elle enjoyed Keith's company. She learned quickly that she didn't need to keep properly mannered and soft spoken; she could be as brash and excited as she wanted. Because Keith could match her level, and often surpass it.

It wasn't before long that Elle had run out of questions to ask the red head, or at least questions he could answer, and instead the one wonderful hour would be spent on Keith telling daring stories of what he and his friend had done.

Three weeks had passed with this new routine for the princess and the stable boy.

"And so I jumped on Jessie's back and he bucks me right off!"

"Oh my," Elle gasped and covered her mouth, speaking around her hand, "What did ya do?" Elle was easily impressionable and the first thing she had picked up was Keith's heavy accent.

She used it only with him though.

Keith snorted, rubbing a finger under his nose, "I got back on a'course! Horse didn t know what hit'im!" He lifted his sleeve, revealing a deep bruise, to which Elle gasped once more. "It's how I got this."

As Elle changed dresses, Keith carried different injuries of all kind; it seemed every day he had a new mark, and usually a great story to go along with it. The urchin often brushed off Elle's initial concern, huffing that an injury was a mark of a man.

After three weeks, Elle would be only mildly concerned.

"You need to stay away form horses if they trample you s'much."

"I'm fine!" Keith responded, as always, throwing himself down onto the grass and sighing loudly; his story now finished. "Y'know..." he drawled, eyeing the princess, "I yap all the time, but I dun hear nothin' bout my wife."

The 'w' word got nothing more than a glare, Elle hearing it to often since Keith crashed into her life.

"I'm borin!" she whined, honesty in her tone. There was nothing special about her life. She was a princess sure, but what did it entail? Lessons, training, and then marriage. There were no adventures, no stories _to_ tell.

Unless fighting a stubborn dress this morning counted as one.

"That ain't true now!" Keith grinned, causing Elle to smile instantly, "I bet'chu have lots of stories."

"Yes..." Elle agreed, dropping the faked accent, "I have plenty of stories ..concerning _you_." She giggled, the light sound encouraging a few chuckles from Keith as well. They laughed together often, something Elle cherished more than anything.

"Ya sure do!" the red head bobbed his head, smug, "Cus I'm amazin!"

"Mhmm," Elle giggled again. Another thing she had learned about the other child; he thought he was the best at everything and anything (which Elle supposed, could be cause for a large number of his injuries) But instead of annoyance, the brunette found his pride endearing, often finding herself encouraging his ego.

Keith grinned wide, and there was hardly a beat of silence before the child sighed, "Time's up, gotta get back to work."

"All right..." Elle smiled gently, standing up form her kneeled position as he stood, dusting her dress off. "Be safe with those horses, ya hear?" Elle grinned.

Keith smiled wide. "Yer getting good with that," the red head huffed a laugh, before stepping close to the princess. "G'bye kiss?"

Elle rolled her eyes, another thing that she had gotten used to since Keith figured he wasn t in danger of death (so long as he wasn't caught): he asked daily for a kiss on the cheek from the princess. After a lot of whining and "Why not?"s Elle relented, gracing Keith s dirtied cheek with a small peck after each of their meetings.

It was the least she could do for all her tells her, right?

So the brunette leaned forward, intending to kiss Keith's cheek as usual, when the red head turned his head at the last moment, planting his lips on hers.

"Eek!" Elle stumbled back, but Keith had not anticipated the action, he leaned forward to crash into Elle, sending them both to the soft grass.

"Ow.." both children groaned, but Elle's whine was more pained; Keith's leg was pushing against a very sensitive part of her body-

The urchin lifted his head, blinking blankly as he rested on Elle's body, his leg pressed between hers. But something was there that shouldn t have been, something that could easily be felt underneath the thin material of the princess's lavender dress.

Keith looked down to where his leg was, then back at Elle, who was nearly whining in pain.

The red head jumped up, eyes wide in shock as Elle slowly recovered to stand up. "Y-you," Keith was at a loss for words, but he soon pointed, shouting, "Girls dun have those!"

Before she could ask what that had meant, the red head had sprinted away.


End file.
